As most of the big teams failed to win this weekend, Milan had a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the standings. Although they technically did this, the Rossoneri should have come away with more than one point this evening. Instead, they squandered several clear-cut chances.
Stefano Pioli won’t be pleased with his players after that performance, especially in the attacking phase. The goals that Hellas Verona scored were a bit lucky but unlike Milan, they took their chances and that’s how you win games. Therefore, the Rossoneri have no one else to blame but themselves for the result.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a penalty, Theo Hernandez failed to convert two sitters and Davide Calabria had a goal disallowed for handball. This is just a few examples of the frustrating sequences we got to watch this evening. At least they didn’t lose, but it doesn’t feel like a good draw despite the late goal.
1. Ibrahimovic can no longer be on penalty duty
The Swede missed yet another penalty, as mentioned, sending his effort well over the bar. Meanwhile, Milan have a near-perfect penalty taker in the squad, namely Franck Kessie who has missed just one of 16 penalties taken in his career. Ibra, on the other hand, has missed three of his last five.
It might be time for Pioli to change the designated penalty taker, as the Rossoneri simply can’t afford to miss that many penalties. In his post-match interview, Ibrahimovic revealed he might give it to Kessie next time: “We had many chances, I missed the penalty, I think I will leave the next one to Kessie”.
2. Bennacer and Kessie absolutely crucial
The midfield duo kept Milan in the game this evening, there’s no doubt about it. Kessie with his strength and stamina, Ismael Bennacer with his passing and vision. The two complement each other so well and you can certainly understand why Sandro Tonali hasn’t been getting a lot of playing time thus far.
It’s hard to imagine a Milan side without them, that’s how integrated they have become in Pioli’s system. Hopefully, Tonali can learn a lot from them and continues his exciting growth. At this point, though, it’s very hard to justify benching either Kessie or Bennacer, even when you have a player like Tonali on the bench.
3. Effects of Lille defeat unclear
Many were worried that the loss mid-week would affect Milan in a negative way this evening. I don’t think that was the case, instead they looked hungry for revenge and came out fighting from the first minute. Sure, they conceded two goals but it’s hard to blame that on any of the players, really. It was just very unlucky.
That being said, the Rossoneri failed to score for the first time since June on Thursday and they struggled with the attack today as well. They lacked the composure and confidence required in front of goal, so perhaps this was a result of the encounter with Lille.
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